Mercy Is the Measure

07-13-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Augustine Acheme, VC

“Who is my neighbor?” the scholar of the law asks- not to seek truth, but to draw boundaries. Jesus doesn’t answer with theory or debate. He answers with a story. A man is beaten and left for dead. Religious leaders pass by, cautious and detached. But a Samaritan- an outsider- stops. He sees. He is moved. And he acts.

Compassion, in the Gospel, is not a feeling- it is a response. Jesus shows us that love for God and love for neighbor are inseparable. The Samaritan doesn’t ask, “What will happen to me if I stop?” He asks, in effect, “What will happen to this man if I don’t?”

“Go and do likewise,” Jesus says (Luke 10:37). This is not just a moral call; it is a divine invitation. The parable stretches our understanding of neighbor beyond comfort, tribe, or convenience. It compels us to cross the road, to step out of self, and to become instruments of mercy.

Moses tells the people in the first reading that God’s command is “not too mysterious… It is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts” (Deut 30:14). The law of love is not hidden- it is woven into our very being. We simply need to live it.

In the second reading, Paul reminds us why we can: because all things hold together in Christ (Col 1:17). In Him, we are not only reconciled to God but made part of His body- the Church. We don’t love alone. The Spirit within us empowers every act of mercy, great or small.

St. John of the Cross once wrote, “Where there is no love, put love- and you will draw out love.” The Samaritan does exactly this. He doesn’t assess worthiness. He sees a person in need and becomes neighbor.

Today, let us not merely admire the Samaritan. Let us become him. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho still winds through our neighborhoods, workplaces, and homes. People lie wounded- not always visibly, but deeply.

To follow Christ is to stop, to see, and to serve. That is the mercy that makes us truly human- and truly Christian.